About this app
What is GameVelvet: Dominoes, Spades?
The research, published by The Intercept Brasil on Monday, analysed more than 55,000 Instagram accounts and cross-referenced the results with the official list of authorised operators from the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA).
According to the survey, the problem arises when a user follows a single account related to betting. The platform’s recommendation system then starts showing other profiles in the same segment, including betting sites, influencers and specialised pages.
Among the 100 most recommended profiles are accounts that, together, have accumulated more than 6 million followers and 114,000 posts. There are three main types of profiles recommended by Instagram: operators, content creators and media specialising in the betting market.
About GameVelvet: Dominoes, Spades
“We’ve never had people in a more gambling mood,” Buffett observed.
In his 2022 letter to shareholders, he criticized mobile trading apps that make day trading and speculative positioning effortless, accusing them of turning the stock market into a “gambling parlor.”
Two years later, Buffett again targeted the “gamblification” of financial markets in his annual shareholder letter.
What is GameVelvet: Dominoes, Spades?
Philip Pietras, 52, admitted to stealing from more than 170 people, many of whom are senior citizens who sought to limit the emotional and financial burdens placed on their loved ones by prepaying for their funerals. But instead of placing those funds, meant for caskets and burial services, in escrow accounts, Pietras pocketed the money to gamble.
Pietras accepted a plea deal from the state, and prosecutors expect him to enter a guilty plea on Oct. 23 and be formally sentenced on Jan. 22, 2027.
Under the terms of the state’s offer, Pietras will admit to stealing his clients’ money for his personal use. In exchange for his admission, the state has recommended a prison sentence of 7.5 years instead of 15 years, followed by five years of probation.
